Already completed it a few years ago but went back to it. I really hope we see a sequel. Can stay the same, just a more open environment. My favourite art direction of this generation.

It is my game of this generation.

There's absolutely nothing like it.

The opening scene where Faith does a tremendous leap off a building and onto a crane whilst the soundtrack kicks in is utterly glorious ... only seeing Rapture (in BioShock) for the first time compares to it.

Ironically, both of which you can experience by playing their respective demos!

Loved it from beginning to end. It's a beautiful nostalgia trip in a wonderful, captivating world that actually encompasses some great gameplay mechanics.

While it doesn't innovate too much, it takes the best of a lot of rpgs and blends them in with the Gibli art almost perfectly.

The battle system is largely fun, although it could do with being a little less real-time and some of the cooldowns were v.annoying. The partner AI is flawed however, often Esther would fail to use a familiar and just stand there spamming her default attack doing 1 damage.

Tomb Raider
+ beautiful
+ good pacing
+ some great locations
+ good cover mechanic
+ loved the bow and stealthy takedowns
+ despite being more action than platformer it still had a tomb raider feel.
+ shooting innocent animals for personal gain.

- worst QTE's ever causing lots of frustrating insta deaths.
- thin plot, Lara losing her humanity in about 5 minutes becoming a cold blooded killing machine- survivor my arse,
- too many scripted backs to the wall firefights. When a fantastic stealth weapon is provided for god sake allow the game to use it.
- optional tombs were a great idea but poorly implemented and far too easy.
- seriously lacked puzzles, during the whole game I didn't get stumped once. Every time a complex situation presented itself the solution was obvious.
- other gameplay issues - not being able to use a weapon whilst hanging or on a log is so 2004.

Ignore my criticisms and frustrations, these are areas where CD can improve. I actually loved the game.
My favourite moment was when Lara climbed to the top of the telegraph and you got an amazing view of the island.

+lengthy
+Leon's campaign is close to classical Resi
+nice to see the story from different sides

-crap story
-masses of frustrating moments
-masses of QTEs
-utterly protracted boss fights
-really masses of frustrating and crappily designed instadeath moments
-graphical issues
-stuttering of 1sec every couple minutes on GTX 680 if you turn on the option to allow another player to join your game
-lots and lots of padding

Was 7/10, due to the sheer level of frustration and poor quality of a significant number of sections this gets a

Dishonored: I liked the atmosphere and world and character design a lot. It also accomplished the easiest access to stealth games I've ever seen because it speeds up the usually slow stealth genre with its teleportation ability. I personally am not that big a fan of complete freedom of choice in video games so I found that the 0 fatality / 100% violence playthroughs were both pretty monotonous and I know there are alternatives but I would have preferred to get some forced (action) scenes every once in a while like in the prologue. However that's just my personal preference and nothing I'd hold against the game because I knew about it beforehand.
The thing I hold against Dishonored is obviously that weak storyline with a twist I saw coming like 2 hours into the game or at least I considered the possibility of it to happen. So the arc of suspense was really a bummer in this game. Once the twist happened I had really some problems to motivate myself to play on because of my disappointment.8/10

Tomb Raider:Initially my expectations for the game were low but went a little higher with the first positive reviews. I am no old fan of the franchise so I played the game without any bias as to how a Tomb Raider game should be like. I think the developers did an excellent job at relaunching the franchise with a perfect balance of breathtakingly fast action sequences on the one hand and silent, creepy tomb raiding, discovering of the Island and puzzle solving on the other hand. The graphics look great, the voice acting and soundtrack are very good and Lara is very authentic.I don't share the criticism towards the story because it is a survival and character building storyline which I knew when I bought the game. The story is very good for what it is in my view and it has this authentic Tomb Raider vibe to it.
Well there are some minor flukes like a few overly cheesy moments, too few and easy puzzles and the occasional repetitiveness of revisiting places because you found the necessary gear to enter the area later in the game but fast traveling makes even that bearable. In general I had so much fun accompanying Lara on her archaeological baptism of fire that I'm willing to overlook these minor flaws. To say that I'm very eager to see more of the newborn Lara Croft in the future is an understatement.

For me this game is a 9/10 and the biggest surprise of the ongoing year because it sets such a wonderful foundation for many more Tomb Raider games to come.

Hitman: Absolution: I played the "new" Hitman game without having much experience with the franchise. Hitman 2 seemed too hardcore for me with those gigantic levels and literally everybody was out to get your head when you made a mistake. I really couldn't remember much about the storyline when I started.

Nevertheless I really think that the story is thin and stands on shaky feet when you experience it for the first time. More importantly for what the story is, it is not very enthralling either. The missions are partially very well designed but even the first part of the heavily advertised Nun-Assassins-Mission was pretty underwhelming. In general the concept of the game lies in the addiction to get as many points as possible. If you discard that, there is not much left but solid but regular cover system 3rd person shooter. Even when you play within the rules of the game there are certain aspects that annoyed me a lot. For example when you put on another guy's clothes the game assumes that every chef in the entire world will know that I'm in fact not a real chef but an imposter. So yeah that cost me a lot of nerves, too. In my view the game is for one saved by the brilliant voice-acting of the cowboy villain and for some of the really brilliant ways to assassinate your targets. However when I electrocuted the third guy in a similar way it got old pretty fast. Towards the final 3-4 missions I had to force myself not to just shoot everybody because most guys that stepped into the way of my Absolution where much too generic / lacking in character to raise my interest.

I think it's a good game for what it is but it's not a game for everyone even with the smaller levels and easier access. I'd say a 7/10 but I couldn't argue with somebody giving it an 8/10 because they're more into the scenario so keep that in mind.

On 360, Just ok really, not too bad, not going to be in your top 20 games of the year either. Good weapons and meaty combat, although by the end it was getting tedious, best played in 30-45mins sections, I hammered it this afternoon hence burnout.

Rented it due to the demo on Live, which is basically the complete game, reminded me of BoTS. I have no desire to farm for extra cheveos, as I certainly do not wish to go through the campaign again on Insane. Didnít play co-op with it.

5/10

"Duffman the grey is thrusting in the direction of the problem! Oh, yeah!"

I really enjoyed this. I liked the first game, but this definitely felt like an improvement in almost every regard. The visuals aren't the most detailed, but I love the art style, and it had some really impressive views. I felt the pacing started to wane in the last few hours - from Earth onward really - and I did start getting pissed off with the number of times you have to collect three of something to progress. The point where you have to collect two keys, but one of those has been split into three parts felt like the devs were taking the piss. Similarly, at one point you must find three undead lords, but one of them makes you find three trapped souls. It really does come across as filler.

Anyway, were it not for the poor pacing in the second half, this would have been a 9/10 for me. I finished it in about 22 hours, and I was moderately thorough with finding secrets and doing side missions. The controls are excellent, combat feels responsive and varied, and I really like the character Death. Overall it's a really solid and enjoyable adventure and a perfect alternative to Zelda. 8/10

Now, I'll crack on with Sly Cooper: TiT, with Driver: SF as my side dish.

I ended up really liking the game, but I just couldn't get into it for a very large part of the adventure. It was too random and flimsy for me to care for the characters and situations and it was only halfway through the fifth episode (yes, at the very end) that I rediscovered the charm of the Monkey Island of old. I was basically playing out of a sense of duty before that and I took two year-long breaks, one half-way through ep. 3 and another half-way through ep. 4. In the end, it helped that the conclusion to ep. 4 and ep. 5 in general were pretty strong, both puzzle and story wise.

I don't think the episodic structure serves the adventure well once all the episodes are released. It would be better if they just took all the episodes and mashed them up into one game, to be purchased and played from start to finish. It's not like someone will just buy ep. 4 and play that anyway.

On 360, Just ok really, not too bad, not going to be in your top 20 games of the year either. Good weapons and meaty combat, although by the end it was getting tedious, best played in 30-45mins sections, I hammered it this afternoon hence burnout.

Rented it due to the demo on Live, which is basically the complete game, reminded me of BoTS. I have no desire to farm for extra cheveos, as I certainly do not wish to go through the campaign again on Insane. Didnít play co-op with it.

5/10

Dont think i'm far off the end - Bautista has just kidnapped the girl - and i agree with what you're saying. Weapons are excellent and upgrading/customising them is a lot of fun. Combat is meaty and Frostbite 2 gives it some extra punch.

Been playing it in couch co-op which i think adds to the experience and, like you said, we have been playing it in hour long bursts instead of just slogging through it.

As it stands, its probably worth a slightly more generous 6/10 for me due to the fun co-op.

Got this in the bundle with Bioshock infinite, Xcom and the Darkness 2 for £24 started before when it came out on Xbox but probably only got around a third of the way back then. On PC for me it was a pain in the arse to run and easily the most trouble I've had with any recent game, no sound, missing quest arrows, display errors and PC crashes every few minutes towards he end. The actual game ooozes atmosphere even if it is a glorified fetch quest. Thought the ending was weak was expecting a few more hours of gameplay instead it ended on a whimper. I would have scored it a 7/8 but due to the technical problems it's a

6/10

Bioshock 2 PS3

Built on the first game well, better weapons and combat in general, couple new enemy varieties, enjoyed the underwater sequences and the games fetch quest elements were better hidden than in it's predecessor the end sequence was decent aswell

8/10

Edited by Rens11 at 01:55:04 11-04-2013

Donít kid yourself, Jimmy. If a cow ever got the chance, heíd eat you and everyone you care about!

I've reached a point where I need to grind for rare drops and I don't want to risk falling out of love with this game, so I stopped after 80 hours. It's gorgeous, it's so full of charm that it's hard to explain just how great this game is, and it's easily the best JRPG this gen.

Bioshock Infinite
The first half of the game feels like a pale imitation of the previous games, lacking the same level of atmosphere that Rapture provided. The audio recordings for example, seem to just reiterate the main plotline rather than tell the stories of citizens. In fact there aren't any memorable characters outside the main cast. Everyone remembers the psychotic plastic surgeon and the couple whose child became a Little Sister, or the mutant Gil from the second game. But in Infinite? The Luteces maybe? Slate was certainly forgettable.
Also, entering an area with a load of non-hostile civilians feels weird when you've spent the last 10 minutes slaughtering everyone you see in a very similar looking area. I almost shot at least half a dozen innocent people because of this and it really takes you out of the world when it's such a sudden jolt.
The handymen feel like a waste too without anything similar to the Big Daddy / Little Sister / Big Sister dynamic from before, one of my favourite things about 1 and 2.
I also hate how they've simplified the already simple gameplay. I can't carry any items or more than 2 guns anymore, a recharging shield, no hacking, an upgrade system with no tough decisions... Add in the retarded AI and the usual abundance of supplies and it's annoyingly easy. (I played it on hard)

That said, the story really comes into its own in the second half with a wonderful ending, which I'll avoid talking about here. The story is most certainly the strong point, but for the most part the game felt like a standard shooter in a bright, colourful setting. Disappointing.

Just finished. I loved every thing about this game. I'm sure when I revisit it later I'll find bigger flaws but my overwhelming impression is 10 / 10

Combat is excellent; frantic and dynamic
Setting is astounding
Story was engrossing and well told
It looked beautiful

There were some negatives though, I kept wanting to hack things and couldn't. The upgrade system was flawed in that I amassed loads of cash cos I couldn't really be arsed upgrading much and didn't find I needed to really (I played on normal). The recharging shield felt really weird and out of place.

That said, those negatives not enough to detract from the score and from the sheer enjoyment I had with this game, so I'm keeping my 10/10.

Heavy Rain - Understand the ambition behind the 'game,' but was very disappointed. Story was muddled and the actual game aspects were poor. Marked slightly up for the atmosphere. 6/10

Uncharted 2 - Loved it. Everything you want in a blockbuster action movie with near perfect game mechanics and a fun if uncoventional story. 9/10

Uncharted 3 - Disappointed. If this were before Uncharted 2, I would probably give this an 9/10. However, they went backwards on this one, the game mechanics are worse and the story never felt as epic as 2. but still an enjoyable game. So 8/10 for me.

The Cave - Really wanted to like this one. But the characters never grabbed me, the narration not that funny and the puzzles never really tested me nor made me laugh like a Ron Gilbert game should. No real reason to replay anyway, so it's a 6/10 for me. Still goodish, but not enough for me to recommend purchase (thank you PS+).

Tales of Monkey Island - Loved it. Anything that lets me go back and experience the world of Guybrush is fine by me (may be biased as the first three were some of my favourites of all time, even enjoyed the fourth). Loved the humour and the story. 9/10

Portal 2 - One of the funniest and greatest games ever made. Good puzzles too. 10/10

ilomilo - For an XBLA game, it looks gorgeous and the puzzles can be fiendish, but great fun all the same. 9/10

Tomb Raider - Frustrating. Can see the makings of a fantastic game. Hoped it would be similar to Metroid Prime in the beginning (new abilities unlokcing different aspects of the island) but that never really panned out. Then you had frustrating QTEs, annoying scripted events which I won't go into for spoilers sake and a singular lack of any challenging puzzle or tomb in the entire game.
On the plus side, you have a satisfying combat system and mechanics, a half decent story with some good character performances and a fabulous looking game. The bow was the best aspect of the game, but the frustrations I experienced with the rest of the game mark it down for me. Still, 7/10

Mass Effect 3 - I finished the game a long time ago, but I recently played through with the 'Citadel' DLC, and for me, that marks the game complete. In terms of gameplay, very good, Not quite got these people who say it has turned into a 3rd person shooter, it always has been, the mechanics have just gotten a lot better. I suppose the amount and complexity of the gear has gotten less, but that never really interested me that much. The story, well, it has never been more than a space opera anyway, but it's a really well done one and I enjoyed it.
As for the ending, I pretty much considered the entire game an ending, it resolved the Geth/Quarian conflict (one way or another), the Genophage and the Rachni. I understand the outrage over the initial ending, because I shared it, though the extended ending answered at least some of the questions I wanted answered. The Leviathan DLC answered the rest. As for the deus ex machina, how many sci-fi shows end without one?
Overall though, as a package, an amazing one, 10/10 for me, I absolutely loved the journey from start to finish.

Bioshock Infinite - Astonishing is one word. I cannot recall, another game (Bioshock aside) having such an established and convincing world, every detail was perfect. The art style and the attention to detail was amazing. But what elevates this game for me, is Elizabeth. I feared this may be one long escort mission, but she was a delight (she was never in danger and gave me ammo!). The first game had an amazing world but felt desolate, you were dealing with a city after the revolution and on your own. Columbia felt alive and it felt like maybe you were helping to initiate events and affect them. The fact is though that with Elizabeth, you had an emotional tie to the place that you maybe never felt with Rapture.
The story is, okay, I wouldn't call it amazing, it's already been well trodden by many a book or film, but it's well executed. I loved a particular moment. I don't know how to do a spoiler thing so I will say SPOILERS in caps to make sure. I loved the moment when Booker plays the guitar, Elizabeth sings a song and gives an orange to an orphan child. SPOILER over.
Bizarrely, I could see a more mature Nintendo doing this game. The world is the star, not necessarily the characters or the story.
Attention to detail, sheer beauty and story as well as the amazing Elizabeth mean 10/10 for me. Astonishing is right.

Kid_Icarus wrote:
Bioshock Infinite
The first half of the game feels like a pale imitation of the previous games, lacking the same level of atmosphere that Rapture provided. The audio recordings for example, seem to just reiterate the main plotline rather than tell the stories of citizens. In fact there aren't any memorable characters outside the main cast. Everyone remembers the psychotic plastic surgeon and the couple whose child became a Little Sister, or the mutant Gil from the second game. But in Infinite? The Luteces maybe? Slate was certainly forgettable.
Also, entering an area with a load of non-hostile civilians feels weird when you've spent the last 10 minutes slaughtering everyone you see in a very similar looking area. I almost shot at least half a dozen innocent people because of this and it really takes you out of the world when it's such a sudden jolt.
The handymen feel like a waste too without anything similar to the Big Daddy / Little Sister / Big Sister dynamic from before, one of my favourite things about 1 and 2.
I also hate how they've simplified the already simple gameplay. I can't carry any items or more than 2 guns anymore, a recharging shield, no hacking, an upgrade system with no tough decisions... Add in the retarded AI and the usual abundance of supplies and it's annoyingly easy. (I played it on hard)

That said, the story really comes into its own in the second half with a wonderful ending, which I'll avoid talking about here. The story is most certainly the strong point, but for the most part the game felt like a standard shooter in a bright, colourful setting. Disappointing.

7/10
.

I feel pretty much the same. I really enjoyed the main story, especially its climax, but the actual game was somewhat tedious. [SPOILER]The "ifinite lighthouses" thing at the end actually brought home to me how similar in gameplay (if not setting) the game was to the original really[/SPOILER]

Stuz359 wrote:
Uncharted 2 - Loved it. Everything you want in a blockbuster action movie with near perfect game mechanics and a fun if uncoventional story. 9/10

Uncharted 3 - Disappointed. If this were before Uncharted 2, I would probably give this an 9/10. However, they went backwards on this one, the game mechanics are worse and the story never felt as epic as 2. but still an enjoyable game. So 8/10 for me.

Having recently played all three in quick succession I have to say I think the third one is actually the best. It gets a massive plus from me for not having some stupid monsters towards the end, something I think lets the second one down massively. Also, the third one doesn't have so many instadeaths due to tanks and the chase scenes are better. All around I thought the third one got it all right.

Stuz359 wrote:
Honestly, I just thought the shooting mechanics were worse and the QTEs got a bit out of hand. I thought 2 was pitched perfectly while 3 tried too (ha) hard to top the previous game.

I think what swung it for me was that I died less frustrating deaths in the 3rd one. There aren't all that many bullet sponges and stupid enemies. Primarily the third game didn't have silly tank sections that annoyed the hell out of me. It was fractionally too easy in parts but I want a game like uncharted to be relatively easy as the pacing is important to my overall enjoyment. Saying all that, Uncharted 2's opening is one of the best of this generation.